After the 2026 World Cup in the United States, Mexico, and Canada, the International Federation of Association Football (FIFA) has released the list of players who can be chosen by fans to be part of the tournament’s best XI. The most notable aspect of the list published by FIFA is that only six Spaniards are candidates to be part of the best XI, which is surprising considering that Spain is the team that has been crowned champion.
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The six Spaniards who have the possibility of making it into the XI are: Unai Simón, Pedro Porro, Marc Cucurella, Rodrigo Hernández, Lamine Yamal, and Mikel Oyarzabal. Particularly striking are the absences of Pau Cubarsí, awarded as the best young player of the World Cup, and Aymeric Laporte, the other center-back who was part of the least-conceded defense of the tournament.
Also, other notable absences include Fabián Ruiz, Dani Olmo, and Álex Baena, the other players who were part of Spain’s starting XI in the last three matches. However, these are not as significant as that of the central defensive pair, who played the entire World Cup, with the exception of 29 minutes (3 against Austria and 26 against Argentina) when Laporte was not on the field.
The complete list of all players chosen by FIFA for fans to vote and select the ideal XI of the 2026 World Cup is:
Goalkeepers: Vozinha (Cape Verde), Emiliano ‘Dibu’ Martínez (Argentina), Unai Simón (Spain), Jordan Pickford (England), Eloy Room (Curaçao).
Defenders: Lisandro Martínez and Cristian ‘Cuti’ Romero (Argentina), Nuno Mendes (Portugal), Marc Cucurella and Pedro Porro (Spain), Virgil Van Dijk (Netherlands), Gabriel Magalhaes (Brazil), Dayot Upamecano (France).
Midfielders: Jude Bellingham (England), Ousmane Dembelé and Michael Olise (France), Vinícius Jr (Brazil), Enzo Fernández (Argentina), Luka Modric (Croatia), Ismael Saibari (Morocco), Rodrigo Hernández and Lamine Yamal (Spain).
Forwards: Lionel Messi (Argentina), Kylian Mbappé (France), Erling Haaland (Norway), Harry Kane (England), Julián Quiñones (Mexico), and Mikel Oyarzabal (Spain).
Only one right-back, Pedro Porro, and Vinicius, Lamine, Olise, and Dembelé in midfield positions are some of the details of FIFA’s list, which overlooks several Spaniards.
Furthermore, it also does not include players like Martin Odegaard, the second-highest assist provider in the World Cup, or Charles de Ketelaere, the only one capable of breaking down the Spanish wall, who finished with three goals and one assist, and who is the sixth-best attacking player in the competition according to the FIFA Power Rankings.
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All fans will be able to vote among the candidates through FIFA’s interactive platform ‘FIFA Play Zone’. The formations that can be chosen are a 4-3-3, a 4-4-2, or a 3-4-3, although you can choose to play with four center-backs, without a defensive midfielder, or without wingers.
